The European Parliament establishes regulations to regulate tourist rentals on digital platforms

02-03-24

The European Parliament has approved on Thursday, February 29, 2024, a set of rules aimed at regularizing the supply of short-term tourist accommodation on digital platforms such as Airbnb. This measure seeks to harmonize the registration of properties and promote transparency and legality in the sector. 

From now on, EU Member States will have to implement a unified digital system to collect detailed information on rental activities on a monthly basis, including the number of nights booked, the number of guests accommodated, and property-specific data such as address, registration number, and link to the ad.

This initiative, the result of an agreement reached in November between the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, will allow the competent authorities to monitor compliance with current regulations and facilitate the implementation of appropriate policies for the sector. Platforms will have to ensure the veracity and completeness of the information provided by hosts, making the registration number visible on the ads and performing random checks to prevent irregularities.

Authorities will have the power to suspend registrations, request the removal of non-compliant ads, and impose sanctions on both platforms and non-compliant hosts. In addition, it establishes the obligation for short-term rental platforms to adhere to registration procedures and share data in areas where this is required.

With the introduction of this regulation, the aim is to close the legal loophole that allowed platforms to avoid responsibility for the activity of the accommodations they offered, complicating the enforcement of local rules. Member States will now be able to require the registration of rental properties through an online process, accessible free of charge or at a reasonable cost, which will ensure greater regulation and control of the short-term tourist rental market.